The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1887-12-02
CASTLE FOLLY.

came OF a great IamI1y, and when ne
proposed to marry a poor obscure
cousin, Miss Lucy Acton by name,
his relatives dew to arms at the mere
mention of such q shocking mesal
lance. Miss Alkaline Ravenal, his
aunt, who had lived much in Paris,
declared that he had sold himself
merely for deux beaux yeux, but
young Albert Edmund had the manli.
ness to stand firm in the fAce of her
wrath and confess that those ''two
beautiful eyes, we're more to him than
Golfers Of gold.
Failing with this argument, Miss
Alkaline and the other Ravenals, one
and all, raised another Mortified cry
first cousins! Such marriages had
been by no means unpopular in the
Ravenal family heretofore. but these
had been marriages de convenance-
a very different thing. Not all that
ugly array of old skeletons which they
fshed out of their memories and
placed before him could brighten stout
hearted Albert Edmund, however,
and the happy day came when he
made lovely, blushins Miss Lucy Ac-
ton his wife.
They went to live on st. Simon's
Island, off the Georgia coast. where
there was a fine estate which had been
In the family for three generations,
and here their children were brought
up and privately educated. Though
the mother brought six children into
the world, only two survived the per-
lis OF infancy-Alberta, the first born,
and Edmund Acton, three years
younger. The friendship between this
sister and brother was almost un-
natural in its intensity.
At sixteen Alberta was tall and
queenly, with the shapely white face
and beaux Yeux of her mother, and
she had great masses of wavy yellow
hair. Both these children promised
well, and AlberUaiulflled her promise;
but after his thirteenth year Acton's
mind seemed to 90 under a cloud,
and it was soon evident that-as the
cynical old grandaunt, Miss Alkaline,
put it-there WAS "a screw loose
somewhere" The Ravenals who had
opposed the marriage were not slow
to say, 81 told you So" but the un-
happy father bore il all manfully, re.
fusing to believe that his marriage
with his cousin was in any way con.
nected with his poor boys misfortune.
On the heels of this calamity came
the war. Albert Edmund Ravenal,
Esq, went into the army and was
made q colonel almost at once. For
a time all vas glory; the colonel came
home on his fuIloughs and went back
again, laughing and joking always
tWhen poor Acton was absent from
his thoughts1, as if the serious bust
ness of war were no morethan amock
tournament at q holiday feast. But
the dark days came-in the very oAxt
battle the gallant colonel was shot and
instantly killed. Then, Just as the
war ended, the stricken wife, who had
never been strong, gave up and died,
leaving Alberta, now q ull-blown
young lady, and the unfortunate
young boy Acton, aged seventeen, in
care of Aunt Dicey.
Tt is related that Mrs. Ravenal's
last speech WAS: 'Alberta, take care
of Acton. Dicev. take ARE of Alber-
tai So these three were bound to-
gether. Aunt Dicey needed not this
promise to the dead, however, to
bind her to the fortunes Of these chill
dren, whom she truly seemed to love
more than her new freedom.
When the news of her fathers death
arrived, Alberta had gone about with
the dumb, piteous look OF a bruised,
beaten creature, and swallowed no
morsel of food for three days, and
now, quite wild with grief at the loss
OF both parents, she was almost as
incapable as the unhappy Acton Of as
suming any direction of affairs. so old
Aunt Dlcey managed everything, re-
newing, with Alberta's sanction, the
standing arrangement with the over
seer. who was now to make q limited
crop with such labor as he could
bring t~ogether-no easy undertaking
at that troubled period. It was out
OF the question to 60 back TO st. Si-
mons now, whore everything was IN
ruins, and they looked upon the plan
tation as their future home.
But this found no favor
with the old grandaunt, Miss Alkaline,
and she speedily interfered. Her plan
was to adopt Alberta and place Acton
in an asylum. So down she came and
carried them both off to the city,
leaving heart.broken Aunt Dicey
to look. after the plantation.
Very old Miss Alkaline said
nothing at first TO Alberta about
tbs second hall of her plan
and bore patiently with poor
Acton, who behaved very badly ct
times. But the time for open speech
and act came at length, and then
there was war. Miss Alkaline RavenaI
had not counted on the quality OF
that affection which cemented this
h~1klas ot.d sister f0vpfhar MIR mn